Showing papers on "Restructuring published in 2012"

Scientific Utopia II. Restructuring Incentives and Practices to Promote Truth Over Publishability

Abstract: An academic scientist’s professional success depends on publishing. Publishing norms emphasize novel, positive results. As such, disciplinary incentives encourage design, analysis, and reporting decisions that elicit positive results and ignore negative results. Prior reports demonstrate how these incentives inflate the rate of false effects in published science. When incentives favor novelty over replication, false results persist in the literature unchallenged, reducing efficiency in knowledge accumulation. Previous suggestions to address this problem are unlikely to be effective. For example, a journal of negative results publishes otherwise unpublishable reports. This enshrines the low status of the journal and its content. The persistence of false findings can be meliorated with strategies that make the fundamental but abstract accuracy motive—getting it right—competitive with the more tangible and concrete incentive—getting it published. This article develops strategies for improving scientific practices and knowledge accumulation that account for ordinary human motivations and biases.

The land grab and corporate food regime restructuring.

Abstract: Land grab appears to be a phenomenal expression of deepening contradictions in the corporate food regime. In particular, the end of cheap food (signaled in the 2008 ‘food crisis’) has generated renewed interest in agriculture for development on the part of the development industry, matched by a rising interest in offshore land investments, driven by governments securing food and fuel exports and financiers speculating on commodity futures and land price inflation. This paper interprets these developments as illusory solutions to a fundamental accumulation crisis of the neoliberal project. While this new (and final?) enclosure registers a restructuring of the food regime, as its geopolitical relations and productive content re-centers on Southern land and an emergent bioeconomic imperative, it is likely to only buy time (and space) in the short run for political and economic elites and a global consuming class. In the longer run, the attempt to resolve food regime contradictions by a spatial fix may well b...

Political Conflict in Western Europe

Abstract: What are the consequences of globalization for the structure of political conflicts in Western Europe? How are political conflicts organized and articulated in the twenty-first century? And how does the transformation of territorial boundaries affect the scope and content of political conflicts? This book sets out to answer these questions by analyzing the results of a study of national and European electoral campaigns, protest events and public debates in six West European countries While the mobilization of the losers in the processes of globalization by new right populist parties is seen to be the driving force of the restructuring of West European politics, the book goes beyond party politics It attempts to show how the cleavage coalitions that are shaping up under the impact of globalization extend to state actors, interest groups and social movement organizations, and how the new conflicts are framed by the various actors involved

Innovation and Foreign Ownership

Abstract: 1 Many have argued that this is because multinationals transfer superior technologies and organizational practices—in the form of new product and process innovation—to their foreign subsidiaries. 2 However, since the most prevalent form of multinational entry is through acquisition (89 percent of FDI flows in developed countries—Barba Navaretti and Venables 2004), rather than through greenfield investment, their superior performance could be due to the selection of higher-performing domestic firms. To date, little is known about the economic determinants of which domestic firms are selected to become foreign subsidiaries and the extent to which newly acquired subsidiaries increase their productivity by innovating—introducing technologies that are new to that firm. In this article, we use a unique panel dataset to analyze both the selection and innovation decisions of multinational firms. We propose a new mechanism to explain how these decisions are jointly determined, highlighting how the market access provided by multinationals creates incentives for subsidiary innovation and, hence, acquisition. We argue that one cannot fully understand the relationship between for

The technical efficiency of the Japanese banks: Non-radial directional performance measurement with undesirable output

Abstract: The paper analyses technical efficiency of the Japanese banks from 2000 to 2007. The estimation technique is based on the Russell directional distance function that takes into consideration not only desirable outputs but also an undesirable output that is represented by non-performing loans (NPLs). The results indicate that NPLs remain a significant burden as for banks' performance. We show that banks' inputs have to be utilised more efficiently, particularly labour and premises. We also argue that a further restructuring process is needed in the segment of Regional Banks. We conclude that the Japanese banking system is still far away from being fully consolidated and restructured.

Sovereign Debt Restructurings 1950-2010 : Literature Survey, Data, and Stylized Facts

Abstract: This paper provides a comprehensive survey of pertinent issues on sovereign debt restructurings, based on a newly constructed database. This is the first complete dataset of sovereign restructuring cases, covering the six decades from 1950–2010; it includes 186 debt exchanges with foreign banks and bondholders, and 447 bilateral debt agreements with the Paris Club. We present new stylized facts on the outcome and process of debt restructurings, including on the size of haircuts, creditor participation, and legal aspects. In addition, the paper summarizes the relevant empirical literature, analyzes recent restructuring episodes, and discusses ongoing debates on crisis resolution mechanisms, credit default swaps, and the role of collective action clauses.

Restructuring the Professional Organization: Accounting, Health Care and Law

Abstract: In recent years the professions have undergone radical transformation. With the advent of rapidly changing markets, more sophisticated and demanding clients, deregulation and increased competition, the generalist professional partnerships have given way to larger, more corporate forms of organization, comprising increasingly autonomous specialist business units. This volume critically examines these changes through an examination of the archetypes which characterize accounting, health care and law practitioners. With examples drawn from Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA, Restructuring the Professional Organization will be of interest to all students of organization studies seeking to understand the issues and problems confronting the professions as they move to the new millennium. Topics covered include: * a review of the models of professional organization *drivers of change in professional organizations * internal dynamics of changes in these organizations * new organizational forms and archetypes.

Root and Branch Restructuring to Achieve Major Cuts: The Social Policy Programme of the 2010 UK Coalition Government

Abstract: The 2010 Coalition has set itself the challenge of combining an unprecedentedly rapid and profound retrenchment with a fundamental restructuring of the public sector, both to be accomplished within five years. The immediate justification is a presumed need to reduce national indebtedness. The longer-term goal is to shrink the state, free up the market and set British political economy on a new course. The programme has encountered a number of set-backs and some elements appear more likely to be realized than others. This article considers the objectives of the Coalition programme and the likely outcomes, using evidence from a number of sources including comparisons with the experience of retrenchment elsewhere and analysis of previous rounds of public spending cut-backs.

Board Size and Corporate Risk Taking: Further Evidence from Japan

Abstract: Evidence based on US firms suggests that large boards restrain risk taking. We investigate whether a similar effect exists in Japan. Our results confirm that firms with larger boards exhibit lower performance variability relative to firms with smaller boards. However, this effect is less significant when firms have plenty of investment opportunities, but considerably stronger when firms have few growth options. This new finding is consistent with recent evidence indicating that larger boards are not necessarily detrimental to firm performance. The results are shown to be robust to the endogeneity of board structure and the use of alternative risk measures and estimation methods.

Assessing technical debt by identifying design flaws in software systems

Abstract: Tough time-to-market constraints and unanticipated integration or evolution issues lead to design tradeoffs that usually cause flaws in the structure of a software system. Thus, maintenance costs grow significantly. The impact of these design decisions, which provide short-term benefits at the expense of the system's design integrity, is usually referred to as technical debt. In this paper, I propose a novel framework for assessing technical debt using a technique for detecting design flaws, i.e., specific violations of well-established design principles and rules. To make the framework comprehensive and balanced, it is built on top of a set of metrics-based detection rules for well-known design flaws that cover all of the major aspects of design such as coupling, complexity, and encapsulation. I demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework by assessing the evolution of technical debt symptoms over a total of 63 releases of two popular Eclipse® projects. The case study shows how the framework can detect debt symptoms and past refactoring actions. The experiment also reveals that in the absence of such a framework, restructuring actions are not always coherent and systematic, not even when performed by very experienced developers.

Crisis in the Eurozone

Abstract: A controversial call to break up the Eurozone and stop the debt crisis. First, there was the credit crunch, and governments around the world stepped in to bail out the banks. The sequel to that debacle is the sovereign debt crisis, which has hit the eurozone hard. The hour has come to pay the piper, and ordinary citizens across Europe are growing to realize that socialism for the wealthy means punching a few new holes in their already-tightened belts. Building on his work as a leading member of the renowned Research on Money and Finance group, Costas Lapavitsas argues that European austerity is counterproductive. Cutbacks in public spending will mean a longer, deeper recession, worsen the burden of debt, further imperil banks, and may soon spell the end of monetary union itself. Crisis in the Eurozone charts a cautious path between political economy and radical economics to envisage a restructuring reliant on the forces of organized labour and civil society. The clear-headed rationalism at the heart of this book conveys a controversial message, unwelcome in many quarters but soon to be echoed across the continent: impoverished states have to quit the euro and cut their losses or worse hardship will ensue.

Politics and Business Group Formation in China: The Party in Control?

Abstract: As a result of economic reform and administrative restructuring in China, a number of powerful state-owned business groups (“national champions”) have emerged within sectors of strategic importance. They are headed by a new corporate elite which enjoys unprecedentedly high levels of remuneration and managerial independence from government agencies and which derives legitimacy from symbolizing China's economic rise. However, through the nomenklatura system, the Party controls the appointment of the CEOs and presidents of the most important of these enterprises and manages a cadre transfer system which makes it possible to transfer/rotate business leaders to take up positions in state and Party agencies. In order to conceptualize the coexistence of the contradicting forces for further enterprise autonomy and continued central control that characterizes the evolving relationship between business groups and the Party-state, this paper proposes the notion of integrated fragmentation.

Creating a Smarter U.S. Electricity Grid

Abstract: Starting in the late 1980s, federal and state governments began to restructure and deregulate some segments of the U.S. electric power industry. The basic and deregulate some segments of the U.S. electric power industry. The basic idea was that the generation, transmission, physical distribution, and retail idea was that the generation, transmission, physical distribution, and retail supply of electricity would be “unbundled” from one another. The physical distribusupply of electricity would be “unbundled” from one another. The physical distribution of electricity and the transmission of electricity would continue to be subject to tion of electricity and the transmission of electricity would continue to be subject to state (distribution) and federal (transmission) regulation, while generation (wholestate (distribution) and federal (transmission) regulation, while generation (wholesale competition) and retail supply (retail competition) would become competitive. sale competition) and retail supply (retail competition) would become competitive. To support this restructuring program, a number of regulatory and organizational To support this restructuring program, a number of regulatory and organizational changes were made or planned to create and manage wholesale power markets, changes were made or planned to create and manage wholesale power markets, transmission networks, and retail competition in an effi cient manner. transmission networks, and retail competition in an effi cient manner. These reforms spread quickly during the late 1990s. Then came the CaliThese reforms spread quickly during the late 1990s. Then came the California Electricity Crisis (or the Western Electricity Crisis) of 2000–2001 ( Joskow fornia Electricity Crisis (or the Western Electricity Crisis) of 2000–2001 ( Joskow 2001; Borenstein 2002). The political reaction to this crisis put a virtual halt on 2001; Borenstein 2002). The political reaction to this crisis put a virtual halt on additional states adopting restructuring and associated retail competition reforms. additional states adopting restructuring and associated retail competition reforms. It also slowed efforts by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to It also slowed efforts by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to push forward its agenda to bring organized wholesale markets, integrating the push forward its agenda to bring organized wholesale markets, integrating the effi cient dispatch and pricing of generation supplied at different locations with effi cient dispatch and pricing of generation supplied at different locations with the effi cient allocation of scarce transmission capacity, to the entire country. the effi cient allocation of scarce transmission capacity, to the entire country. FERC’s efforts to rationalize the balkanized ownership and operation of transmisFERC’s efforts to rationalize the balkanized ownership and operation of transmission facilities by creating Regional Transmission Authorities (RTO) managed by sion facilities by creating Regional Transmission Authorities (RTO) managed by Independent System Operators (ISOs) were also constrained. Today about oneIndependent System Operators (ISOs) were also constrained. Today about onethird of the population has access to competitive retail supply alternatives, and third of the population has access to competitive retail supply alternatives, and

Strategic Ownership Structure and the Cost of Debt

Abstract: We theoretically and empirically address the endogeneity of corporate ownership structure and the cost of debt, with a novel emphasis on the role of control concentration in postdefault firm restructuring. Control concentration raises agency costs of debt, and dominant shareholders trade off private benefits of control against higher borrowing costs in choosing their ownership stakes. Based on our theoretical predictions, and using an international sample of syndicated loans and unique dynamic ownership structure data, we present new evidence on the firm- and macro-level determinants of corporate control concentration and the cost of debt. (JEL G21, G32)

Spatial Differentiation and Vertical Mergers in Retail Markets for Gasoline

Abstract: This paper studies an empirical model of spatial competition applied to gasoline markets. The main feature is to specify commuting paths as the "locations" of consumers in a Hotelling-style model. As a result, spatial differentiation depends in an intuitive way on the structure of the road network and the direction of traffic flows. The model is estimated using panel data on the Quebec City gasoline market and used to evaluate the consequences of a recent vertical merger. Difference-in-difference and counterfactual simulation methods are compared, and the results, to a large extent, validate the assumptions of the demand model. (JEL G34, L13, L42, L81, Q41, R41)

Expropriation of Minority Investors in Chinese Listed Firms: The Role of Internal and External Corporate Governance Mechanisms

Abstract: Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: We investigate how ownership structure, board characteristics, and regional differences in law enforcement and stock market development affect the conflict of interest between majority and minority investors in Chinese listed firms. For this purpose, we study related-party transactions as well as labor redundancy, and classify firms as either state- or private-controlled. Research Findings/Insights: We find that related-party transactions grow more extensive as the wedge between the controlling shareholder's control rights and cash flow rights increases. Related-party transactions also rise with voting rights held by the government in state-controlled firms. Next, the state as controlling shareholder exacerbates labor redundancy. The control rights of the second to tenth largest investors can offset expropriation. Regarding board characteristics, we find that a larger fraction of directors affiliated with the dominant owner enlarges related-party transactions, while large boards also increase labor redundancy in state-controlled firms. We find only weak evidence that higher-quality institutions help to restrain expropriation of minority investors. Theoretical/Academic Implications: In Chinese listed firms, a major conflict of interest arises between majority and minority investors. Also, the state may exercise its control rights to achieve imperative social and political objectives, to the detriment of external investors. Yet, as the stock market valuation and financial performance of state-controlled firms rise with the fraction of shares held by the state, future research should better delineate the conditions under which state ownership is either detrimental or beneficial to firms. Next, the results indicate that governance mechanisms suggested by conventional agency theory are deficient in Chinese listed firms. Future research could therefore establish more clearly when internal and external governance mechanisms are likely to work, thereby also taking into account the identity of the controlling shareholder. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Investors should be aware that expropriation in Chinese listed firms has specific implications when the state is the controlling owner. Also, at this stage of development, independent directors and external governance mechanisms can hardly protect the best interests of minority investors. Rather, expropriation is counterbalanced when voting rights are concentrated in the hands of other large block holders. Policy makers should work on ownership restructuring, board independence, and institutional quality to better protect minority rights in Chinese listed firms.

Collaborating in a competitive world: musicians’ working lives and understandings of entrepreneurship:

Abstract: Recent interest in ‘creative’ work practices has been brought about by organizational restructuring and the emergence of the creative industries as an economic power. Drawing on research with music...

Designing Competitive Electricity Markets

Abstract: This volume of papers, originally presented at Stanford in March 1997 in a conference sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute, examines several questions about the restructuring and deregulation of electricity markets. Its stated goal is to present guiding principles for evaluating proposals to restructure the US electric power industry. While a collection of essays is perhaps not the best place to lay out guiding principles, the volume does contain a great deal of learning about restructuring. The first essay is a reprint of Paul Joskow's excellent article in the ``Journal of Economic Perspectives''. An essay by William Hogan on the debate between zonal and locational pricing is next. Paul Kleindorfer lists the various governance schemes which other countries that have restructured have used to govern system operation, access to the market for power, and transmission ownership and pricing. One difficulty with the book, as well as the debate in the US, is that it fails to draw adequately upon the international experience. Shmuel Oren lays out the potential areas over which an ISO could have authority. The chapter by Stephen Rassenti and Vernon Smith that bilateral trading should never be allowed, implying that a mandatory pool should be established.more » A reduction in regulation may increase the incentives for technological innovation. Martin Baughman suggests a number of ways by which costs of transmitting and storing electricity may be reduced. Robert Wilson returns to the volume with a chapter on institutional design. To end the volume, Hung-Po Chao and Stephen Peck present an extension of their earlier work in the ``Journal of Regulatory Economics'' showing how markets for transmission rights would work in a transmission grid of three points.« less

Revenge of the Managers: Labor Cost-Cutting and the Paradoxical Resurgence of Managerialism in the Shareholder Value Era, 1984 to 2001

Abstract: Institutional changes associated with the rise of shareholder value capitalism have had seemingly contradictory effects on managers and managerialism in the United States economy. Financial critiqu...

IT in Emerging Markets

Abstract: Emerging markets represent two-thirds of the world's population, generate over 20 percent of the world's gross domestic product, and are restructuring themselves to foster further growth and socioeconomic development. Realizing that IT puts them on a progressive path, they're embracing it in novel ways in areas such as business, education, healthcare, and government. New opportunities exist for the IT industry and emerging markets to embrace each other. This special issue presents a snapshot of IT's progress and potential in such markets and the related challenges IT professionals and policy makers must address.

Restructuring for Growth in Urban China: Transitional Institutions, Urban Development, and Spatial Transformation

Abstract: This research examines government policies and urban transformation in China through a study of Hangzhou City, which is undergoing dramatic growth and restructuring. As the southern center of the Yangtze River Delta, an emerging global city region of China, Hangzhou has been restlessly searching for strategies to promote economic growth and survive the competition with Shanghai. This paper analyzes Hangzhou’s development strategies, including globalization, tourism, industrial development, and urban development, in the context of shifting macro conditions and local responses. We hold that urban policies in China are situated in the broad economic restructuring and the gradual, experiential national reform and are therefore transitional. The paper suggests that China’s urban policies are state institution-directed, growth-oriented, and land-based, imposing unprecedented challenges to sustainability and livability. Land development and spatial restructuring are central to urban policies in China. Last, while Hangzhou’s development strategies and policies to some extent reflect policy convergence across cities in China, local/spatial contexts, including local settings, territorial rescaling and land conditions, are underlying the functioning of development/entrepreneurial states.

Farm Restructuring and Land Consolidation in Uzbekistan: New Farms with Old Barriers

Abstract: In this article we investigate the potential for and limitations of land consolidation as a tool for rural development in transitional environments, focusing on the Khorezm region in Uzbekistan, Central Asia. We frame our analysis in a broader evaluation of land consolidation as a tool for economic development based on European experiences. It is argued that both the European tradition and the Uzbek case indicate that land consolidation as an isolated measure may trigger many unfavourable side-effects, and that in a transitional environment it requires even more careful tailoring of measures and embedding in various institutional settings.

Institutional isomorphism and change: the national programme for IT – 10 years on

Abstract: Institutional isomorphism has been a major intellectual contribution within institutional theory for three decades. The effects and processes of institutionalization have traditionally focused on stability and persistence of institutions, and more recently on institutional change. This study contributes to the IS field using the lens of coercive, mimetic and normative isomorphism and change within a highly institutionalized organizational field of health care. The setting is the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, where in 2002 a major government policy was launched to introduce Electronic Health Records (EHRs) to over 50 million citizens. Using episodic interviewing techniques and content analysis of government health IT policy documents, this study provides a longitudinal analysis of the introduction of government policy to modernize health care using information technology. Institutional isomorphic conditions become conflicted with attempts to impose field and organizational change. As clinicians attempt to retain their professional dominance in a climate of almost continuous restructuring of health services, political initiatives to implement EHRs are met with resistance from key stakeholders, resulting in policy changes and further delayed implementation times.